*shels – set to release Plains of the Purple Buffalo

It’s been 4 years since transatlantic epic rock explorers *shels released their debut album “Sea of the Dying Dhow” to critical acclaim. And since its release the group have jettisoned their own imprint, Shelsmusic, and built a home for some of underground alternative music’s finest from around the globe, including the likes of Black Sheep Wall, Latitudes, Ef, The Ascent of Everest, Sons of Noel And Adrian and more. On the sidelines, *shels have been slow-roasting their sophomore full-lengther, Plains of the Purple Buffalo with more care, detail and attention than anything the band have ever undertaken.

“it’s been a tough 4 years – hard, but rewarding… juggling various different projects along with the label, and our day jobs too – we’ve been through some of the greatest personal highs and lows ever and our lives have changed so much during the writing and recording of this album… we’ve learned so much and we’ve tried to put everything in these tracks” – Mehdi Safa

Produced by Mehdi Safa at his home in Temecula, California, and taking its title from the novel and movie The Neverending Story, Plains of the Purple Buffalo is a monumental journey, clocking-in at just shy of 80 minutes. Piloted by the songwriting force behind its previous incarnation as UK hardcore cult favourites Mahumodo, *shels’ niche lies in its unique ability to seamlessly intertwine blistering slabs of raw brutality with delicate and fragile passages – songs are more like film scores and packed so full of layers, they are overflowing with life – the result is a record that will captivate listeners for years. Indeed it’s the depth and attention to detail that has resonated with music lovers across all genres for years, and what makes *shels stand out from the crowd. In Plains of the Purple Buffalo *shels have taken their moody, emotion-feulled adventure to a whole new level, showcasing themselves like never before.

“When we titled the album back in 2007, we didn’t realize how appropriate and relevant it would be to our own Endeavour of completing this record. The Neverending story is all about not losing hope, taking a leap of faith and believing in something you may not be able to see, touch or understand – and overcoming fear – it’s about letting go and realizing your own power and allowing yourself to reach your full potential – these ideals are at the core of this album” – Mehdi Safa

You can hear a track from the album on the band’s Facebook page. or right here:

Also – more passages from a recent interview with Mehdi Safa are below:

“We wanted this to be real, raw and as brave as could be – and we wanted the production to reflect that… you’ll hear click tracks, pops, hiss, people talking, TVs and even our pets in the background – (we’re gonna do a competition once the release is out to Spot The cat in the album.. and whoever can do so gets a free limited edition Print). the vocals are louder… the drums are more raw, we wanted to move away from glossy production… and instead of bringing people into the studio with us… we wanted to take them into our practice room… and living room… to the point when the songs were written and jammed for the first time – there’s always something more special about the first time a song is played.

this album was heavily delayed.. as most of our closest friends, fans and family know. We lost two years worth of riffs, ideas and recordings in a devastating hard drive failure… it was brutal…and one of those moments you feel like giving up… we were all set to start recording a new album and at that point we had to start form scratch – I remember going to bed that night and lying down trying to recall as many riffs and melodies as i could from the lost files.. and the next morning i woke up and spent the day recording demos of everything… pretty funny how it worked out because those demos would wind up becoming the basis of the actual recordings and most of what you’ll hear on the album is from those demos. After we completed the demos… we spent another year writing more material for a new album… and we then started recording.. but it was clear that nothing matched the vibe and feeling captured in first takes of the demos, so, after yet another year of meticulously recording guitars, bass, vocals and other things, we made a difficult decision to ditch everything and decided to use the demos as the new starting point for the album – 75% of what you’ll hear on this album is from the original demo recordings, the original first takes, mistakes, dirt, noise and we hope and a hellova a lot of feeling. We plan to release the original demos later this year as a limited edition release.

So, like our last album, this one was produced at at home totally DIY – the upside was the flexibility of time, comfort and control we had over getting what we wanted.. there’s no way we could have spent that much time in a studio… after all we’re not Metallica – the trade off was that our equipment was super basic and having grand visions with basic equipment can be like stepping on the gas pedal while having your hand brakes on! in other words… many sleepless nights and enough stress to kill a family of elephants… we were driven properly nuts by this record.. and for most of it. it felt like it was deliberately testing us… we were so close to giving up on numerous occasions – it was depressing at times – but despite it all and thanks to the energy of our friends, fans and family, we kept on pushing forward and doing our best… and now, to our own surprise we are proud of what we have accomplished and are now ready to deliver this album completed – and while painful, the process has brought the best out of us and we’re fortunate to have come out the other end standing and stronger than ever – we hope the music will resonate with you all and be heard in its entirety”

“We’re in this for the long run… and we’ve never been in a rush with our music – what’s that saying? A good plan today is better than a great plan tomorrow? Complete Bullshit…😛 we want to deliver our best.. always.. no matter how long it takes.. the slower you roast a piece of meat the better! (inless yore vegan) we’re fortunate to have some of the patient and understanding fans and friends around us… we hope to be making music till we’re old and grey – it’s our love – we put so much into it and we get so much back… our objectives have always been nothing short of complete honesty of expression… and as long as it’s 100% honest and real then it’s perfect in our eyes. There’s nothing better! Through our music we’ve grown and become more aware, stronger and better at expressing ourselves – just as is the case with every art, whether it’s cooking, writing or martial arts – when you start to master something, you’ll start to see in more detail and you can apply those new eyes to learning more about yourself and the world”
TRACKLISTING:

1. Journey To The Plains

2. Plains of the Purple Buffalo – Part 1

3. Plains of the Purple Buffalo – Part 2

4. Searching for Zihuatanejo

5. Vision Quest

6. Atoll

7. Butterflies on Luci’s Way

8. Crown of Eagle Feathers

9. Bastien’s Angels

10. Conqueror

11. The Spirit Horse

12. Waking

13. Leaving the Plains

TOTAL RUNTIME 78 minutes

First person to tell us which movie is the inspiration behind track 4. gets a free copy of the album😉

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